8/7/2025 I'm Back in the U.S.A.!

Sorry for not posting for a while.  I arrived back in the U.S.A. on July 22 at San Francisco Airport.  Since my son and his family were not scheduled to return from their long family camping trip until the next day, I took the shuttle to Napa, picked up my motorhome from its storage place, stopped for groceries, and got set up in the campground spot I had reserved.  It was a very long day when you add the 8 hours of time difference between London and California!

I spent the next couple of days unpacking all the stuff I took with me and the stuff I acquired in the U.K.  I am a person who always encourages people to travel lightly and pack only essentials, but I confess to not only buying a few new clothing items, including a new pair of shoes, plus stocking up on several books, a ton of brochures, some sheep souvenirs, and a selection of tea from Harrods and other places.  In fact, I came home with a small suitcase that I did not take with me--needed it to bring back all the junk I bought!

If you have been following the blog I was writing on my trip to the U.K., you know that I fell flat on my face in a store and really messed up my right knee and leg.  Basically, there was a small step that I missed, but people in the store were very helpful, as was a woman who was passing the open door and saw me as I fell!  The whole story is described here:   https://2025humongousenglandwalesadventure.blogspot.com/2025/07/718-missed-step-and-my-experience-with.html

I spent a few days visiting family, and then headed east with my motorhome to return to Ohio and my other son and his family.  While I tend to alternate winters in Florida and the Southwest, I nearly always spend at least a month or two each summer in Ohio.  This gives me a chance to catch up on doctor and dentist appointments, and also to visit friends and relatives in Michigan.  This year, however, I am planning on looking for a condo near my younger son and his family in Ohio.  After 13 years of non-stop traveling, and reaching the advanced age of 82, I have decided to settle down a bit, at least for most of the year.  I may still do some traveling, but probably not in my motorhome, which is aging faster than I am!  We are both slowly falling apart, or so it seems.  

The biggest thing that has occupied me since I returned from my long trip to England and Wales is taking care of the knee I fell on and my lower leg and foot.  Not only has it taken a long time for the swelling to get less, but the blood or fluid that was in my knee has now migrated to my foot, which became swollen and very sore.  Not only that, but I developed and ignored pain in both of my feet while on my U.K. trip.  I should have known better since I had plantar fasciitis many years ago, but the temptation to walk somewhere on what will probably be my last trip to London made me keep walking, no matter the pain.  The result is now that I have substantial plantar fasciitis pain in my left foot to go along with the pain from my fall in my right foot and knee!  

So, a lot of my time over the 2+ weeks since I has returned have been focused on driving and propping my foot up whenever I can.  I can barely walk through a grocery store and to fill my tanks with gas, so no sightseeing for me and not much exciting to write about, which is my excuse for not posting recently. 

Once the swelling went down on my leg, several hidden lumps have appeared, so I made a second emergency room visit in Nevada to have them checked out.  One was especially a concern since it was near the knee prosthesis that I have had since 2008.  (The last thing you want is infection around a knee replacement because it requires taking it out and redoing the knee replacement!)  Friends and family had also been reminding me about the dangers of deep vein thrombosis when you have a large bruise due to a fall. 

So, a visit to an emergency room in Nevada and several more tests, plus a referral to an orthopedic surgeon who does knee replacements, was needed.  The results of more tests was that the lumps were probably collections of blood, not signs of infection.  My whole knee, lower leg, and foot are still very sore, but the doctors gave me antibiotics and assured me it would take weeks and maybe months for these lumps to completely resolve.  In meantime, I am taking breaks from driving so I can walk and keep my muscles moving, and also propping that leg up as often as I can.  

And to make things even more fun, my motorhome refrigerator died, which means the cooling unit that is accessed from outside my vehicle failed and lost all its ammonia, which acts as its coolant.  So, I had to throw out a lot of food and am currently keeping food and drinks cold in a large cooler I bought.  It is a pain to have to keep feeding it ice every day, but I like to have food, snacks, and drinks available as I travel. 

Right now, I am in a Corps of Engineering campground near Des Moines, Iowa, and spending a couple of days here so I can rest my leg and spend more time elevating.  Next stop will be along the Mississippi for a couple of days, and then stops for a night or two in Illinois, Indiana, and finally in Ohio.  

I am hoping to find a condo that I like, but the offerings are pretty skimpy lately as people seem to be hesitant to move in these unstable economic times.  If I do not find a condo I like, I will probably get some of the things fixed on this motorhome and head to Florida for the winter.  I'll try to post more often on my plans.       

6/11 Just to Let You Know, I Will Be Enjoying Several Weeks in England and Wales!

I am in London right now and will be in various places in the UK for the next 6 weeks.  Hence, I have started a new blog about this trip,  You can access it by clicking on the link on the right-hand column that refers to my new 2025 trip, or you can click on this link below:

https://2025humongousenglandwalesadventure.blogspot.com/ 

 

6/1 California Trail Center, Elko, NV

I wasn't sure what this was, but when I saw the sign on I-80, I decided since I had some extra time, I would check this place out.  Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised to see a museum and good parking for my RV.  It is well worth an hour or more stop!

Basically, this interpretive center covers the California Trail that many immigrants used on their way to California.  The eastern part of this trail through Nevada was combined with the Oregon Trail, which heads left around that area.   

The entry sign: 

 

  I really liked these displays of comments by travelers that are on the entrance walkway. 

Consider that they had to  unpack all this stuff whenever they went up a cliff or steep hill!

 

 

 

 

5/28 Deer Creek State Park, Utah

This state park is just a few miles east of Provo, Utah, in the Washoe Mountains. It is a pretty drive here and the campsites are excellent--well spread apart, good views, paved roads and sites, and full hookups.  

It was a pretty drive through the mountains both coming and going.  There are a couple of small towns nearby, but I stocked up with groceries and other supplies in Provo before I drove here.   

 

 

The state park is along a lake with good boating and swimming, although this particular campground was about 40 above the lake, so it was a good climb up and down to the water.  

 

 

 

 

Wild flowers are just barely coming into bloom.  

One nice thing about this place is that it seems to be very isolated, but it is only about a 30 minute drive to Provo and stores.  

5/15 Two Colorado Campgrounds--James M Robb & Rifle Gap State Parks

I was only at each of these briefly and did not do any sightseeing in this area because of lack of time and I was still recovering from my bout of bronchitis and whooping cough, which meant a lot of time staying indoors and resting.  

They were both very nice places, however, and I would easily go back to either of them.  

James M. Robb Island Section State Park

This Colorado State Park is along I-70 in western Colorado, it is near the towns of Grand Junction and Palisades.  It is a fruit growing area, so good fruit in season.  The area is known also for steep cliffs and nearby high mountains.  Here is a photo of the highway going into the area. 

Campsites are nice, but most have electric only, and the campground is located between the highway and the Colorado River.  One important fact is that the sites on the western side of the campground are shaded by an early-setting sun, which makes them cooler in hot weather.  Basically, when i was there it was cool, but instead of setting at 8 pm, the sun set behind the big cliff on the left of this photo at about 4 pm!

Another photo of the huge cliff on the western side of the state park.

Rifle Gap State Park

This state park is only about 65 miles north of James M. Robb State Park.  It is located at a higher elevation, so there are some snow-covered mountains in the distance.  The state park is about 15 miles from a decent-sized town with major stores such as Walmart.  

Here is the drive into the town of Rifle Gap.  Pretty countryside. 

This is the dam that creates the lake this campground is located on.  

 

 

I should have taken more photos of the campground, but the second day I was there it was very windy and rained.  The important thing to know is that there are several small campgrounds in this state park, all near the lake, and this one had extremely nice, large, paved full-hookup sites.  Each site also had a covered picnic table.  And each evening, the barn swallows came out and went through their acrobatics while grabbing insects during their flight. 

I would easily recommend either of these campsites, although I really liked the paved camping sites and full hookups at Rifle Gap. 

5/8 Views from Dead Horse Point SP

I am doing my best to catch up with my blogging, but I have had two major problems lately that have slowed me down.  The first is that I have been recovering from whooping cough, which I came down with about April 22.  I had been tired and had a slight cough, but when I arrived at Zion National Park on April 23rd, my cough turned into the worst I have ever had in my life.  I would cough deeply and in a long string, and then gasp for air, making a loud whooping noise.  It was very scary to cough so hard you thought you might never catch your breath again.  That lasted a little more than a week.  A trip to the urgent care diagnosed me with bronchitis and gave me prednisone, which unfortunately caused me to come down with thrush.  Just what I needed.

A second urgent care visit a few days later diagnosed me more specifically with whooping cough, and they gave me antibiotics specific to this disease. I am still coughing a little, but it is a normal cough, and I am not coughing as often.  However, I have been very tired, so I have been staying indoors and resting, not taking as many photos or doing much sightseeing.  Recommendation:  Whooping cough is going around, so make sure your Tdap vaccination is up-to-date, as you do NOT want to get this disease!! 

Second big problem is that my camera fell off my dash as I was driving, and the lens is not going in and out easily.  I have to sometimes push it closed, and I have noticed a lot of my photos are not focusing properly, so I have fewer good ones to post.   

Anyway, Dead Horse Point is a state park located on a long promontory that is a few miles off the road from Moab to Canyonlands National Park.  It has a very nice campground, but they are having water problems right now, so are asking you to bring your own.  This is not really a problem for me as my tanks hold 60 gallons of fresh water. 

Even if you don't camp here, if you drive to the end of the road, you will be able to look over the cliffs and have an incredible view of the Colorado River in the valley.  You can also drive down there on a paved and then dirt road that goes from Moab to Canyonlands.  The only problem is the very steep switchback road at the end, so you can also take a tour, which I did several years ago.  

Your first stop should be the visitor center.  This is the view from a side canyon there. 

Spring is here in this part of Utah, so could not resist this photo.  Not sure what shrub this is, but is was amazingly full of flowers. 

Theses are berries on a juniper bush?  Gin, anyone?

A glimpse of the Colorado River in the distance.

It's only a couple of miles to the end of the highway and the best view in the park!

Makes you want to go down there.

A glimpse of the campground.

Nice dirt road that is driveable by most trucks and even cars. 

These are settling ponds of a mining operation in the valley.

Great view of the snow on the mountains in the distance. 

Leaving Dead Horse Point.  Even the drive out is scenic.

Next stop is Colorado.